Satisfaction in completion

This week has been very good to me. The Zombie socks were a breeze to knit and fit well - they will go into the sock drawer for Bugg around Halloween. Some sort of sock counter or gauge for my sidebar would be nice. There should be 8 pair for Bugg and we are up to 3...I need to get knitting!


I know another pair of Zombies are in my future as soon as enough yarn for FYS's size 15 feet is acquired. He loves handknit socks.


Chris gifted me The Eclectic Sole and there are quite a few patterns that call to me. Some discussion has been had about the preference of patterns having 64 stitches, but I will look further into that once it is time to cast-on for one of the patterns. No decision has been made on the next endeavor, but some ideas are floating around






The Northern Lights is finished - yay!

This skein hung balanced immediately and feels so heavenly. I am in love!

567 yards of fabulous fiber. I started spinning it on 6/22/08 and finished 7/4/08. Pretty dedicated for me, but it went so quickly being pencil roving and it was difficult not to obsess.


There was no goal in particular for this handspun, it was just enjoyable to relax and experience pencil roving for the first time.


The only two wip's now are the Ring of Lace and the Feather and Fan Shawl.

Ring of Lace is most likely be finished over vacation. The F&F shawl languishes for reasons that escape me. With a lot of car travel coming up, it may be finished before winter.

We had company last week - my grade school friend who moved to California when we were Freshman in High School, her 3 little boys, and my dad. More on that later.

Remember that blanket?

The Hope blanket was a labor of love and so many wonderful knitters donated their time and creative energy to help me make that happen.

When it became time to give it away, I alphabetized all of the donor's names and asked for a number from Random.org

Amy won the blanket and soon after sent an e-mail that she has a good friend - Kendra - who is in treatment for colorectal cancer. Amy had made the donation in Kendra's honor and has gifted her the blanket. Kendra shares her amazing journey on her blog.

Please make your own journey over to read and know that by contributing in any way has helped. I pray that the Hope blanket will provide just that for Kendra.

after a quick trip to Kentucky

We made it back from Kentucky and Bugg's classes are scheduled (mostly). A little tweaking and she will be set. I've been strong up until now, but the tears are knocking on the door. She is ready, I will be strong.

After spinning the laceweight, I was struggling with what to put on Georgia. The Northern Lights won out and it was the most excellent decision. Becky summed it up the best when she told me that "pencil roving is the schizzle". It certainly is! Makes me realize that my drafting skills need a little work.

Zombie Socks are half finished...which means there is one sock to show you.

Hints were sent my way about the looseness of the fabric once stitches were dropped. The solution used on this sock was to cast on, work ribbing, and two repeats using size 1 needles and then switch to size 0's. I continued with 0's until the gusset shaping was complete then switched back to size 1's.

The fabric on the top of the foot concerned me as possibly being loose and I considered using size 0's for the top of the sock only, but it worked out fine on the 1's.

This sock went by pretty quickly, but the second is languishing. Oh, and you will notice that these are not size 15's for my son...not enough yarn!

The languishing is possibly due to the cast on of another project...

this is the Ring of Lace Wrap pattern from Heartstrings. Kristy sent this lovely Cherry Tree Hill Silk to me long ago and, although the color repeats are not what ROL calls for, I thought it perfect for this design. This gift was a special treat as the yarn is heavenly to work with.

Up next:
Visit with a grade school friend

The Hope Blanket has a new home

Thanks so much to everyone who donated. I alphabetized all of your names and went to Random.com for a randomly generated number for the lucky recipient.

Congrats to Amy Peterman.

I've been working on the pattern and have more squares to test-knit before it is ready.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

and so I spin

Really, I should be catching up on my blog reading...

Instead, this yarn has finally been plied.

It began as 2 ounces of Angora, Merino, and Silk from Susan's Spinning Bunny in Tamarack and Spruce and ended up being 617 yards of lace(?) weight. Seriously, I thought it would n-e-v-e-r be finished!

Overall, I am pleased with the outcome. Things were learned and there are questions to ask of Beth if there is ever time for another lesson.

Chris gifted me this fabulous merino roving and it is calling to be spun...yet, it is coveted. I still find it difficult to start spinning my 'good stuff'. I keep waiting until my mad spinning skills kick in.

There is some Northern Lights in there and that will probably go on the wheel next...no, not the Northern Lights gifted to me by Lisa. I'm waiting until I get really good before getting that out!

wink!

I am so proud

6.1.08 graduation (120)
Originally uploaded by kniterella

Just wanted to show one more photo of me with my baby girl...where did the time go?

So far behind

Reading blogs is part of my morning ritual - every day, even the weekends. After being away for a week, I've discovered that my pal's posts have exploded and lots of things are going on without me knowing. Not only do I miss reading about your escapades, but I miss sharing...even if there isn't much happening on the needles.

In the past two weeks I've:
-driven umpteen miles through Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana
-ate more fast food than the past two years combined
-ate ice cream nearly every day
-went to a wedding reception of a great friend of 21 years
-spent time with mom and dad : )
-visited family for the first time in awhile
-watched a baseball game
-rode roller coasters
-talked with an old friend
-went to drag races with my son
-had TWO pedicures
and
-missed my hubs!


What I didn't do was:
-knit much
-visit any yarn stores
-read much e-mail
-spin : (
-worry
and
-of course, read your blogs.

I will catch up, but it is going to be a process. Some of the bloggers I like to read post often.


What I did manage to knit was one more hat for Kristy's Hat Quest bringing my total to 4


and start another pair of socks - Zombie!

I am hopeful that there is enough yarn to make these for My Favorite Youngest Son BUT he just got a new pair of shoes and they were size 15! He's only 15 years old and if his feet don't slow down we will be having him fitted for boats soon.

I'm knitting a couple of inches and weighing the yarn. Should know within a couple of days.


Coming up:
-tennis resumes for Bugg
-a visit with a childhood friend whom I haven't seen in 7 or 8 years
-class advisory meeting with Bugg in KY

Hats for Kristy's Hat Quest

Kristy was my pal for International Scarf Exchange 3....way back when.

A few months ago, Kristy took on a huge task of knitting 300 hats for children living in an orphanage in Ukraine. Some fellow knitters joined a group on Ravelry to help accumulate hats.





Of course, I was willing to help...hats are easy enough, right? You would think - it has been so difficult for me to find time to just make a hat. Finally, two are finished and another one is on it's

way. Now that we are out of the gate, I hope to get a move on and crank out some more hats.

Speaking of charity - reminder that there are 10 days left until we draw a name to receive the Hope Blanket. All you have to do is donate to The American Cancer Society here. Just by donating, your name is put into the hat (no pun intended ; )

Proof!

Here's proof that I knit TWO grasshopper socks!

I've also been knitting hats for Kristy's Hat Quest. She has 70 complete in her goal of 300. Kristy is amazing and I've enjoyed getting to know her since she knit my scarf for ISE3 - how lucky am I! Check out the details, maybe you can whip up a hat or two and send them on their way.

Anyone going to Knitter's Connection in Columbus, OH next weekend? We'll be meeting up at the Briar Rose booth at 2P on Thursday if you are in the area - what fun to meet in real life!

The hub-bub of graduation

It has been a whirlwind of activity and we are going from 50 to zero. Experience has taught me that you plan the best you can and then let go of all expectations for these events. This practice has served me well of late and I can honestly say that being bent out of shape over something happened only once (ok, maybe twice). My baby girl has graduated and I am excited for her to go out and continue making her mark on the world. She is prepared and I could not be more proud...just a sec, my eyes are leaking...

The process of the ceremony was frustrating from beginning to end. It was held in an auditorium and each family was given 5 tickets and had to bombard their friends to get more if needed. The faculty entered first in full robed garb and were introduced while the crowd applauded. The kids entered bare of any distinguishing mark to set them apart. We have spent the past 18 years raising individuals and the administration had forced them into tiny little drone molds.

My daughter was determined to stand out and had prepared a shiny silver topper for her cap. She put it together as soon as the ceremony began and it looked impressive. It didn't take long for an appointee for the administration to confiscate it....in the middle of the ceremony! Infuriated, Bugg began texting and my husband was dispatched to regain possession of her 'bling'. When we met her in the courtyard, her bling in place, she echoed our thoughts ~


A ceremony to honor the accomplishments of our kids has continued to be a celebration of the teachers and faculty. The fun and individualism has been drained through the process and this graduation became a boring rhetoric with more of the same.
See the 'bling' hat? 3rd row from the top, 4th one from aisle? That is my Bugg! Pre-confiscation--click to enlarge

.

In other matters, some knitting was accomplished. The second pair of socks that will be sent to college next year are finished. My goal is to have 8 pair total and this is #2.

Lisa gifted me a skein of Woully Boully sock yarn for my birthday and I loved working with it. The pattern is Stansfield #11 from Sensational Socks. I knit the cuff and first two 8-row repeats on size 1 needles and then switched to size 0's. The sock fits like a dream, but there were maybe two yards of yarn leftover.

Oh, one more thing...Kristy, the yarn used in Sunshine was Rowan Summer Tweed. I don't like knitting with it much, but once it is washed and dried it softens up a bit.

Long lost work in progress

This design is in Rowan's The Kasbah Collection. The colors mixed with a simple crochet detailing caught my attention and made me want to knit it.

Easy enough! It was cast-on...um, so long ago that the date escapes me. The body and sleeves were easily finished and Stitcher Bomb aka Sharon helped put the first rows of purple crochet on the neckline. We ran out of time and I was confident that it could be finished with my mad crochet skills.

So, the top languished until selling some extra yarn on Ravelry and remembering that there was a WIP around here somewhere. Turns out the crochet wizards blessed me one day this weekend and the neckline was finished.

Some boring details:

The neckline as written was too floppy and I tightened it up by skipping every 3rd space on the raffia color row. On the final row, I eliminated one of the chains (same for the sleeve edging). The length of this was extremely short and I added by taking off the final border, picking up stitches, and knitting until it looked good.

Turns out this is one of my favorite tops now and it has escaped the WIP status!

Finished shawl - the photos

The proper way to photograph shawls in a way that captures their true beauty always escapes me!

See it on Ravelry

I just couldn't wait

The Alka shawl is blocking, but I had to share. This pattern is from Myrna Stahman's book.

Confession, the book was daunting at first. It became less intimidating once it was quiet around the house and I could actually make notes. There are suggestions in the book about this particular shawl design and changes to be made allowing for bulkier yarn.

The yarn is one of the Sonoma colorways from the Hope Blanket.

This shawl is a sample for Briar Rose. If you catch them at a show this season, check it out. The colors are always so much more beautiful in person. I will put up more photos after it dries.

Spinning and the art of macaroni

I've been experimenting with my spinning. The red and tan roving is a mill end and is my first attempt at spinning thick and thin.

Something told me to spin and ply a little to see how it goes and when the fiber was wet it smelled very, very bad. When dry, it smelled fine. Coby had a tip that worked like a dream.

Run VERY !HOT! water and put some Dawn dish soap in then soak the fiber for 5 min. It is important not to move the fiber much to avoid felting. After the soak, run VERY !HOT! clear water and soak for another 5 min. Finally, spin the water out in your washing machine. There was just a tiny bit of fiber here and it squished out between towels.

The fiber smelled fine afterward.

In the meantime, the desire to spin finer weight yarn had arrived. This is angora, merino, and silk from Susan's Spinning Bunny. Originally 2 ounces, nearly half is spun up. We'll see how it goes once the ply has been finished.

A couple of projects made with Briar Rose are around here, too. A Myrna Stahman shawl is on the needles made with Sonoma. Guess is that it is about 75% complete. With increases every odd row, it is difficult to estimate. The rows are nearing 300 stitches and it is apparent that the progress will slow by the sheer volume of stitches.

Finally, this hat and mitten pattern will be carried by Briar Rose. Christy Roosien wrote the hat and a matching scarf pattern that is incredibly adorable. It is knit with 2 strands of Fourth of July on large needles. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year?

One more thing to share. Mother's Day was low-key and that is fine with me. Sunday night, Bugg's boyfriend dropped by with a present.

My very own macaroni necklace! Let me tell, you, the designs have gotten cooler than when they were in Kindergarten - waves!

The kids laugh now, but still think it was pretty cool that I actually wore the jewelry made from food to work (at a bank) when they were little. Just to stick with tradition, I wore this necklace to Bugg's tennis match Monday. The boyfriend smirked a little, but he must have been so proud.

Coming to a show near you

Remember that blanket?

Wanted to let you know that it will be with Chris during the following shows:


Great Lakes Fiber Festival
May 24 & 25th 2008 Wooster, Ohio


and

NEW!! - Knitters Connection
"Knitters Market"
June 12, 13 and 14, 2008 Columbus, Ohio


Be sure to stop by and see Chris at the Briar Rose booth if you attend either festival.

Donations will be accepted at both shows (and online) until June 21st when we will draw a name and mail the blanket to one lucky donor.

Good luck!

What I finished this weekend - 5/04/2008

Interweave Knits published the Montego Bay by Amy Singer in the Summer 2007 issue. From the moment I layed eyes on it, I knew it would eventually fly off of my needles. Fast forward one year and here it is - finished!

It knit up quickly and the Handmaiden Sea Silk was a dream. This is the first time I've knit with it and (other than the silk smell) it was a lovely yarn. The colorway is Vintage and was acquired from Ebay last year.

Details on Ravelry.

Completion of this means there are 3 wip's floating around here. All concentration is on the Grasshopper socks that my kids are already fighting over.

The pattern is Stansfield #11 from More Sensational Socks and has been accommodating in the 'no pool' department. Of course, the heel area shows what could have happened with a different stitch pattern and it is unpleasing to my eye.

This is being knit from my lovely birthday yarn from Lisa.

The other two wips?

One is a Feather and Fan Shawl that reminds me of Charleston, SC every time I look at it. I haven't knit a stitch in quite awhile and it is, technically, a zzzzz. The pattern is fine, results desirable...knitting just needs to happen~maybe after graduation.

Second is Sunshine knit in Summer Tweed. All finished except for the last area of crochet around the neck. I stink at crochet and my friend Sharon usually helps, but we haven't been able to see each other in awhile. Perhaps I will take a stab at it pretty soon.

Graduation planning is taking a lot out of me and it will be emotional to see her walk across that stage. Tears were forming Sunday at church as we celebrated the seniors who will soon graduate.

....where are those Kleenex?

One more note: The IW Summer 2007 was a great issue. I've completed 3 of the designs and have plans for 2 more.

The correct guess would be...

Ok, let me premise this by saying there were a lot of good sock yarn sales this month...seriously, A LOT!

Remember that I want to send my daughter a pair of handknit socks every month she is in college next year...and she will have a jealous roommate who might need a pair now and then.

There were yummy, yummy yarns I longed to try and just ordered them, what can I say?

The number is~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~42!

Yikes!

Well, it WAS my 41st birthday, so there is one for each year plus one to grow on (which is much more fun than a spanking!)

I've tried to choose a variety of colorways, yarns, and variegation to gift to you. It was difficult, but I've ended up with this:

Dream in color Smooshy - November Muse

Araucania Ranco Multi - Color 307

Hill Country Yarns Sweet Feet - Crimson

Alice was the closest with a guess of 44 - Alice, please e-mail me with your mailing address.

Debbi was pretty close with her guess of 39, so I'm sending her this:

Hill Country Yarns Sweet Feet - Be Mine

It seems a few of you underestimated my desire to help stimulate the economy by being a consumer and I so admire the guesses of '51'. Had there been a few extra days in April, I just might have gotten there!

Thanks for playing along and helping me to celebrate my birthday month - you made me smile.

Let me give you yarn!

Erin's post today reminded me of some things that need to be done and this is the week they will happen!

One of these is to give you some yarn...seriously!

It will be a great fibery gift, I promise - some of my most treasured yarns will arrive on your doorstep. All you need to do is comment with your guess of how many skeins of sock yarn I've gotten this month.

Please remember:
1. This is my birthday month
2. I've shown reckless abandon with sock yarn
3. Purchases may be in-route and are accounted for
4. Included is sock yarn I've received through gifts, purchases and swaps
5. Photos and my Ravelry stash will not help you

So, how bad do you think I've been in April - hmmm?

Details: Closest guess wins; multiple correct guesses will all win; Yarn recipients will be chosen at 5:00P on Wednesday, April 30th

Have a fantastic day and thanks for just being you!

From fiber to Fibonacci

It makes me smile to think that knitters and spinners (and other crafters, too) can meet online, meet up for a fiber event, and feel like they've know each other for a long while.

It's a long story about how I came to love Briar Rose Fibers - a 'God' moment, if you will. Needless to say, Chris is a dear friend and my fiber world has been greatly enhanced since meeting here just about 2 years ago. It was through the Briar Rose Knit-along that I met Lisa.

Lisa is a very talented knitter who has designed for Crystal Palace and has recently put some beautiful patterns out on Ravelry which are going to fly off of my needles really soon. We finally met last Friday at CJKopec Creations. What a great day it was! A well-deserved break from graduation and college planning, gardening, and housework (which still needs finished). Anyway, Lisa added to my sock yarn stash build of recent days by bringing this Woolly Boully for my Birthday...she is so sweet!

Coby's studio was a veritable feast of fiber and there was little restrain. Lots of photos are coming, as the fiber is spun up...so here goes.

A little tuft of dreamy deep red merino and bamboo was plied with black merino to become 151 yards of light-as-a-feather yarn. The red is very nice and it spun up beautifully (once I got going). At some time in the future, I would like to get the red and ply it with itself.


Not that some spinning was accomplished, the next cast-on is weighing heavy. Dreams of Fibonacci danced last night and the yarn is very near...a pullover is in my near future!

Please help!

This blanket has been a labor of love. I asked for fiber, Chris sent it. I asked for knitting and designing, the incredible knitters did it. Now, I've done my part with sewing and edging the blanket - all 48" x 64" of it!

We are 26% toward our goal of $2000.00. If you haven't donated yet, please visit the American Cancer Society site we have set up and donate anything you can to help.

Thank you so much!

See it on Ravelry